Xerox to produce ventilators in Webster

Xerox Holdings Corp. has partnered with Vortran Medical Technology to produce thousands of ventilators from Xerox’s Webster campus, the two companies announced Tuesday.

The production will speed and scale production of Vortran’s GO2Vent ventilator and related Airway Pressure Monitor for hospitals and emergency response units fighting the battle against COVID-19.

Assuming a stable supply of essential parts, the companies will rapidly scale up production from roughly 40,000 ventilators in April to between 150,000 and 200,000 ventilators per month by June. Together, Xerox and Vortran could produce as many as 1 million ventilators in the coming months, the companies said.

While the GO2Vent is not a replacement for ventilators found in intensive care units, it is widely used in emergency situations, inter-hospital transport and MRIs. Given the shortage of ICU-grade ventilators, medical professionals are utilizing tools like this and other technology to support patients who do not yet or no longer need an ICU-level breathing device, which can be freed up for another patient.

John Visentin

“Our smartest minds met—virtually—with Vortran’s smartest minds and figured out how to mass-produce this critical technology,” said John Visentin, vice chairman CEO of Xerox. “We want to help make sure doctors, nurses and paramedics on the frontlines have the resources they need to help the rising number of patients with COVID-19.”

While Xerox plans to manufacture ventilators from its Webster facility, where the company was founded, Vortran will continue to manufacture ventilators at its current facility in Sacramento, Calif.

“The partnership with Xerox has one clear goal – to help save as many lives as possible. With Vortran’s proven technology and Xerox’s ability to hyper-scale manufacturing, we believe we can supply health care providers as many as 1 million ventilators in the coming months,” said Vortran Co-founder and CEO Gordon Wong M.D. “For all of us, this will be the most important thing we ever do.”

Vortran’s GO2Vent was designed for emergency use, natural disasters and disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. A gas-operated, disposable ventilator that can be set up within minutes and discarded after use by a single patient, it provides support via a secure airway and can be operated on a compressor, oxygen or air with a minimum of 10 liters per minute flow rates.

In addition to scaling up production of the GO2Vent and APM-Plus, Xerox and Vortran expect to compile and analyze data and feedback from health care professionals on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 in order to design and mass-produce external, in-line modifications that can be added to the GO2Vent to expand the potential applications of this life-saving equipment.